Call For Submissions: All In The Family

You have a family story? We want to hear it.

We knew we’d be hard-pressed to top Feminism Month next month, so we thought we’d bring out the big guns in November and talk about that great cause of both happiness and stress in the coming months:

All In The Family

The holidays bring both the joy and pain of family, so we’re getting a head start on things and dedicating November to the art of crafting new rituals, building baby families, and the importance of community in both weddings and marriage. This way, when the holidays roll around this year, we’re all fully prepped for the good and the bad that comes with all that, ahem, quality time we get in the winter. And don’t forget, while we accept Wedding Graduate and Wordless Wedding submissions year-round, this is the time when all of that newly-acquired wisdom and recent wedding memories are swimming around in your head. So keep sending ‘em on in!

As always, here are the tips and tricks for submitting your story to APW and getting it published:

One of the first questions we’re asked when we talk to people about submitting is post length. While we don’t have any requirements exactly, essays between 600–1800 words are usually the ones that make it to the front page. Exceptions are always made, so don’t let those numbers keep you from writing what you need to write. If something is too long or too short, but we love the concept, we’ll help you edit it into something we can publish.

Next, one of the primary characteristics we look for in submissions each month is a connection to a universal idea. We’re all writing from our personal experiences here, but if you can take that experience and make it something that other people are going to relate to, then we’ve got magic. But that doesn’t mean every post needs to have a big moral or overarching theme. Sometimes the most universal stories are the simplest ones.

As always, our themes are meant to serve as a guideline for submissions, but they aren’t rigid. Do with them what you will! For example, if next month’s theme is “Family” but you really need to talk about moving in together for the first time, then we want to hear what you have to say. We’re always after diversity of experience here, so the most important thing is that you write something that is authentic to you (particularly if it’s a perspective we haven’t heard from in a while or at all).

Also, when you’re submitting for the monthly theme, we don’t want you to feel as though you have to frame your story around the theme itself (i.e., “Here’s what I have to say about family…”). Heck, you don’t even have to include the name of the theme in your writing at all. Just write what you would normally write, and we’ll figure out if it’s a good fit for the month, or if maybe it would be a better fit for later in the year.

Lastly, if you have something you just have to get out there into the world, but it doesn’t fit with the theme for the next month, please send it in anyway. Our top priority is always strong content, regardless of the topic.

And that’s it! So if you have a story to share about what you’ve learned, send it in already!

When I first started my business, I heard two pieces of advice repeated over and over again in photography forums online: back up your work and get business insurance. My company was in its infancy at the time, but I figured that if enough people were saying these things, there was probably a kernel of truth to it. So in the mad dash before my first big wedding, I faxed an application for business insurance and forked over a few hundred dollars for the comfort of knowing that my gear would be protected.…

Looking forward to November. Not only is it my wedding month (woo!), but I have family on the brain lately. I just moved in with my fiance last weekend and am missing my family something fierce, let me tell you. Excited about the next step? Definitely. But this 28-year-old, never-left-home-not-even-for-college bride-to-be is having a really tough time. And I imagine the holidays will be very interesting.